Many youth and adults in prison have long and painful histories of trauma, going all the way back to their early childhood, and past generations. Yet there are very few resources provided to safely integrate this unresolved trauma. More than 90% of people behind bars return to society. But within 3 years, 60% return to prison or jail.

We urgently need to stop this cycle of repeated incarceration and offer programs that truly create wholeness, safety, and belonging. We are proud to be part of a movement that encourages us to think and act differently, to reimagine our criminal justice system. Our trauma-informed and resilience-building methodology offers practical inner tools people can use anywhere. It works.

In addition to the physical benefits and improved overall well-being, yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven to:

• Drastically reduce rates of recidivism, people who practice yoga and meditation behind bars are less likely to return to prison once they have finished their sentence

• Only 8% of individuals who took 4 or more yoga classes returned to prison, compared with a national average of 60% recidivism.

•  Reduce depression, anger, and anxiety, often a root cause of destructive behavior and drug use.

• Be an effective adjunctive therapy during treatment for drug addiction, which is a co-factor in many of our students’ incarceration.

Our definition of Trauma-Informed Yoga
We define trauma-informed yoga as offering accessible embodiment practices that encourage participants to reclaim their agency through choice, inclusion, and nervous-system regulation. Rather than merely addressing emotional and physical symptoms of trauma, our classes focus on well-being, possibility, and choice. Our instructors have sensitivity and awareness of trauma, and understand its impact on the entire mind-body system. They fully integrate knowledge into their teaching practices to move towards well-being, and actively resist re-traumatization.

Our team of 100+ volunteer instructors and 11 incarcerated teachers, currently reach an average of 250 students through 37 classes weekly, in 18 different facilities in 13 Washington State Counties each week. We teach at all custody levels, maximum, medium, and minimum, as well as solitary confinement.

In August of 2015, 10 men from 5 different prisons around the state were transferred to Stafford Creek Corrections Center to start their training. They graduated in February 2016 and are now teaching yoga classes at 5 facilities across the state. In October of 2016, 10 women at Washington Corrections Center for Women started their training, and 5 of them graduated in April 2017.